A few seconds and a brand new play on Feb. 2 kept the Lion basketball team in the thick of the muddled District 16-5A standings.

With a chance to solidify its position in second place Friday night, Leander suffered a heartbreaking setback to district bottom dweller Westwood, keeping the Lions in a multi-team tie for the final playoff spots with two games remaining in the regular season.

The spectacular last-second thriller against McNeil Feb. 2 featured a lob pass play that the Lions had not used once this season.

Tied 57-57, Leander missed a shot to go ahead but gathered the offensive rebound and called timeout with 3.3 seconds left. Bradley drew up a play but then McNeil called a timeout, prompting Bradley to switch plays – a sideline inbound pass from Devante Lawson to Jean Maurice Blanchard at the rim – and it worked beautifully for a much-needed 59-57 Lion win.

Toby Tobeck stepped up for Leander throughout the win, and provided the crucial screen to set Blanchard (game-high 23 points) free. Tobeck finished with 13 points, including two big offensive rebound put-backs of Leander-missed free throws in the fourth quarter.

“To be honest that’s the first time we’ve ever run that thing,” Bradley admitted. “We were pretty solid on both ends of the floor. Jean Maurice played very well, but we had a lot of other people come in and contribute – we’ve been stressing that for a while.”

It looked as though the miraculous win would propel Leander to a secure place in the playoffs with one-win in district Westwood up next, but the Lions stumbled early and might have suffered an emotional let down in a 51-48 loss Friday.

Marketh Biscoe bounced back to score 20 points in the game and Blanchard added 14 points and eight boards, but the Lions could not get a stop when they needed it down the stretch.

“It hurt us big time. I dunno if they put a lot of heart and soul into that McNeil game and just didn’t have it in them or what,” Bradley said. “They were just not as enthusiastic on both ends.”

Now that Leander sits in a temporary four-way tie for second place at 6-5, with Stony Point right behind at 5-6 through Friday’s games. The Lions have a tough road to get there, but winning out would nearly guarantee them a spot in the playoffs.

“I told them it is by no means out of your control. It’s not going to be easy by any means; it’s going to be very tough. I told our guys, ‘look at it as it’s a challenge playing the teams in the mix with you right now. ‘You can win the game, and put them below you as well.”

Leander  has a home date with Vista Ridge at 7:30 p.m. Friday and a road finale at district-leading Cedar Park at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.